An Unexpected Conclusion
by Abicion
Summary: Oh, look!  A slightly different version of the ending to the original Metal Gear Solid!


"Snake! Come! Kneel down and sacrifice yourself to this historic weapon!"

Metal Gear REX ominously hummed to life and began rising from its dark hangar in the depths of Shadow Moses. Liquid Snake continued bragging to his minuscule opponent over the horrifying machine's loudspeaker.

"Consider it an honor, a gift, from your brother!"

Solid Snake barely dodged a collapsing piece of steel rubble as the world around him quickly turned to Hell. Liquid was proving himself to be insane enough to activate REX in a way never intended, and its slow ascent was literally tearing its cramped hangar to shreds.

"Now you shall bear witness to the demon weapon that will drag the world into the 21st cen-..."

The villain's diabolical speech was abruptly cut off when a main support beam gave way from the roof of the chamber. This debris struck REX directly on its canopy "mouth", causing the bipedal tank to lose balance and violently trip forward. All that was heard from the loudspeaker now was Liquid's voice making a shrill, guttural scream as the cockpit was crushed like a tin can between the floor of the hangar and the enormous beam. The soul-shattering noise was abruptly cut off with static, and the Metal Gear's legs twitched against the floor a few times as if something was smashing into the control panel inside (or, more likely, being squashed against it). The spectacle ended when the joints that articulated REX made a deafening grinding noise that sounded like the death roar of a great dragon being stabbed through its fleshy hull. The beast then remained lifeless.

Snake blinked in disbelief when the smoke cleared. Never did he expect such a nightmarish menace to eliminate itself so hilariously. After making this reflection, he jumped from the hangar wreckage he had been crouched on and approached the downed machine's cockpit. Inside, it was just as Snake suspected. Liquid's crumpled, ketchup-like remains were trapped within, slumped over the unit's controls with obviously no risk of further aggression.

Out of the corner of his eye, Snake now noticed something hanging from the twisted rafters above him. A few seconds later, a limp human form fell from this structure, causing Snake to run toward the person with his arms outstretched. Meryl subsequently landed in his arms, unconscious but breathing. Convenient. He gently placed her on ground before he tapped on the nanomachine transmitter in his ear.

"Otacon, I've taken out Metal Gear. Is there anything else I need to do to make sure its nuke can't be salvaged?"

Snake's radio-linked assistant paused briefly in study before responding.

"No. The only warheads compatible with REX were designed so they can only be used by one system once they've been linked and activated. If you destroyed REX's control system, that means the nuke died along with it."

Snake returned to the messily dismantled weapon. He reached through REX's mangled cockpit hatch and rummaged through a series of shattered, gore-soaked computer boards before declaring the situation to be a lost cause. He responded to his tech-savvy assistant accordingly.

"She's done."

Otacon gave a notable sigh of relief, but sounded somewhat sad when he spoke again.

"That's good. But... it really went that quickly, huh?"

Snake found Otacon's tone to be odd, given the miracle that had just occurred.

"Yeah. Is there a problem with that?"

The spectacled computer operator seemed to be stumbling through his thoughts now.

"Well, no... but, I was actually kind of hoping it would be strong enough to keep you busy for at least a few minutes. Not that I wanted to you fail or anything, but since I'm the one who built it, I just wanted it to..."

Snake rolled his eyes. The dweeb thinks he's the damn thing's mother, he thought silently to himself. Finally, he answered gruffly.

"Right. I understand."

Otacon's voice became happier now.

"So, how much longer do you need until you want to get out of here?"

The weary commando replied impatiently, starving for a cigarette.

"I don't need any more time. Metal Gear's destroyed. I've found Meryl. We can scram as soon as you pack up."

Otacon seemed confused now.

"But... what about Liquid?"

Snake answered quickly.

"He..."

The soldier then stopped and pondered how to describe his rival's fate appropriately. Finally, he spoke again.

"He had to take care of another pressing engagement."

Otacon's only response was an awkward pause before the transmission ended. Solid Snake then began making preparations to rendezvous with him before withdrawing from Shadow Moses.


End file.
